1412 



POPULUS 



PORTO RICO 



grown here than the varieties with lobed and very white- 

 bottomed (and sometimes variegated) leaves. 



Var. nlvea, Wesm. (P. nivea, Willd. P. arghitea, 

 Hort.). This is the commonest form of white Poplar in 

 this country. It is known by the snow-white under sur- 

 faces of its foliage and the 3- or 5-lobed maple-like 

 leaves. It is far too frequent about old yards, where its 

 inveterate brood of suckers make it a perpetual nui- 

 sance. It is sometimes called Silver Maple, from the 

 resemblance of its foliage to that of the maple. As a 

 street tree in cities it is particularly offensive, for the 

 cottony covering of the under side of the leaves and of 

 the shoots holds soot and dust, and it looks repulsively 

 dirty. Useful for foliage effects in large plantings. 



1919. Populus alba, var. canescens above, and 

 var. Bolleana below (X ^3 



Var. can6scen8, Loudon. Fig. 1919. Leaves broad or 

 nearly circular in general outline, prominently notched 

 but not lobed, the under surfaces and the young shoots 

 very gray-woolly. This tree is met with occasionally. 

 Its horticultural value is not greatly different from that 

 of var. nivea. By some thought to be a hybrid of P. 

 alba and P. Tremiila, 



Var. BoUe^na.Lauch. (P. Bolleana). Bolles' Poplar. 

 Fig. 1919. A very tall, narrow-topped tree, with cottony 

 Ivs. rather more deeply lobed than those of the var. 

 nivea. The tree was introduced into Europe in 187.5 

 from Turkestan, and it was named for Dr. C. Bolle, an 

 arboriculturist. It bears about the same relation to 

 Populus alba that the Lonibardy Poplar bears to Pojm- 

 hm nigra. Its fastigiate habit, combined with the white 

 foliage and shoots, makes it a most emphatic tree, and 

 there is great danger of planting it too freely. Seems 

 to be short-lived. L_ jj_ B_ 



PORTO RICO as a Field for Horticulture. Porto Rico 

 (Fig. 1920) is a land of perpetual summer, awaiting only 

 the skill of the experienced grower to blossom into an 

 exotic fruit garden for our eastern states. It is our 

 only bit of tropical soil on the Atlantic side of the con- 

 tinent, and now possesses tariff protection for the fruit- 

 grower and vegetable - gardener which amounts to a 

 handsome profit in itself. As compared with Florida, 

 the climate and the soil are in favor of Porto Rico, while 



in the matter of transportation, San Juan already has 

 the advantage of most Florida points. 



Climate. — Porto Rico is more healthy than most other 

 regions of the same latitude, because it has more hills 

 and mountains, is more breezy, and because of its in- 

 numerable streams of pure water. 



The seasons are marked by the spring rains beginning 

 about May 1, and the fall rains closing about Nov. 1, 

 although in some parts rain falls every month in the year. 

 In the absence of irrigation, planting depends on tliese 

 periods. Tobacco and vegetables succeed best when 

 planted in the fall, as the direct sun and pouring rams, 

 liable to come in the summer months, injure them. A 

 sharp range of mountains, from 2,000 to 3,500 ft. high, 

 traverses the length of the island a few miles from the 

 south coast, and all the remainder of the area, except 

 the river bottoms, and a coast fringe of alluvial plain, 

 varying from a mere beach up to five miles in width, 

 is intricate mountain and hill, threaded by countless 

 streams. 



This topography creates great local climatic differ- 

 ences, a cooler and more moist temperature in the in- 

 terior, with bright, clear weather on the sheltered 

 coasts. At sea-level the mercury rarely falls to 60° in 

 winter nights and in summer days rarely exceeds 95°. 

 The yearly average night temperature is about 70° and 

 that of the day about 85°. The nights are always com- 

 fortable for sleeping. Lack of food and medicines and 

 exposure to rains are responsible for most of the illness 

 in Porto Rico. 



Products. — Coffee, sugarcane, stock-raising, the cul- 

 tivation of vegetables, and fruit-growing are the leading 

 industries of the island, their relative importance being 

 in the order named. Coflfee and tobacco are not, strictly 

 speaking, horticultural products, and yet, as their cul- 

 tivation is more nearly that of the orchard and garden 

 than that of the field, a few observations about them, of 

 a general character, seem to be in place. 



Co /■/■ft'. — The growing of coffee presents some attrac- 

 tions to the American horticulturist commanding, say, 

 $20,000, or upwards. The climate of the hilly and 

 mountainous interior, where coflfee luxuriates, is cooler 

 and more refreshing than that upon the low cane belt 

 bordering the sea. Coflfee is a staple. It improves with 

 age and can be transported over a mountainous trail, 

 and hence is sure of a market. The disadvantages are 

 the low value of the product under present market con- 

 ditions, the considerable cost for machinery if the price 

 for cleaned and assorted coffee is to be obtained, and 

 the fact that coflfee is on the free list. A new market 

 will be opened in the United States when the fine aroma 

 of Porto Rican coflfee becomes known. Better system 

 in cultivation and a cheaper means of transportation 

 will improve the status of the business, but the writer 

 is convinced that this industry will not advance as will 

 that of the higher-priced, protected products like sugar, 

 tobacco, oranges, pineapples and vegetables. 



Tohaceo.—Th.G backwardness of the tobacco business 

 seems to be largely due to the fact that it has been 

 chiefly in the hands of the peasant class, lacking the cap- 

 ital and special knowledge to perfect it. The curing, as- 

 sorting and marketing of tobacco have not been reduced 

 to a fine art as they have in the Vuelta Abaja district of 

 Cuba. There can be no doubt of the fact that there are 

 districts in Porto Rico where climate and soil are ad- 

 mirably adapted to the production of a high-grade leaf. 

 This is proved by the fact that in years of shortage of 

 the tobacco crop in Cuba, Porto Rico tobacco has been 

 extensively exported to Havana, re-cured and re-sorted, 

 and the finer quality sold as Havana leaf. Cayey is the 

 center of the best tobacco section of the island. There 

 are a number of tobacco farms and very many small peas- 

 ant's patches in this vicinity. Caguas and Comerio, not 

 far distant, are lesser centers of the business. There is a 

 bright future for the experienced, progressive tobacco- 

 grower. Success may be expected with a moderate capi- 

 tal, as returns are quick, the value of an acre's prod- 

 uct is large, and the tariff conditions are extremely 

 favoral)le for the Porto Rican as compared with the 

 Cuban, Sumatran or Mexican grower. 



Fruit-droivinii i» Gcxcnr/.- I'robably the most invit- 

 ing field for the horticulturist in Porto Rico is the cultiva- 

 tion of the various tropical and subtropical fruits, i)articu- 



